Ultimate XMen: MUTANT MASSACRE
by Dino Pollard
Summary: Avalon is in ruins and Magneto is a prisoner of SHIELD. That means the XMen are on the run once more, now returning to London for safe haven. However, all is not well as the Morlocks are being hunted by a group of mutant assassins called the Marauders. C
1. Enter The Marauders

* * *

**_Morlock Tunnels  
London, England_**

The creature known as Caliban stops for a moment.

He places his hand against the wall to brace himself. His breathing is heavy, his lungs drawing in quick gasps of air. His other hand tightly clutches his side. Sweat drips down his face. He looks behind him, his eyes wide with fear. He can hear footsteps coming, and he continues moving down the tunnel.

"Close... home so close..." he lightly mutters.

He keeps his hand on the wall for support, trying to move as fast as he possibly can in his wounded state.

"Callisto know what to do," he says. He continues moving down, turning the corner at the fork.

A few moments pass, and four men and two women enter the tunnel. One of them, dressed in clothing lined with various interchangeable devices, holds a rifle in his hand. His hair is long and black, and he has a goatee. He bends down and examines the drop of blood that lays there. He touches it lightly, then smiles and stands.

"It's fresh," he says. He shifts his rifle to both hands and cocks it. "Ladies and gents, I believe the hunt is on."

* * *

"MUTANT MASSACRE"  
Part I: Enter the Marauders  
March 2005  
**by Dino Pollard**

* * *

"Could someone please tell me what the hell we're doing in England?"

The question comes from John Proudstar, as he and Hank McCoy stand on a street corner in London. Hank looks up at him and adjusts his tinted glasses.

"Logan still has some contacts in the British Secret Service, so he felt here, we could stay under SHIELD's radar," he replies. "Plus, if worse comes to worse, we could seek refuge in the Morlock tunnels."

"What is it with these Morlocks anyway?" asks John. "I heard Ali mention something about it, but nothing really beyond that."

"Mutants who live in the sewers beneath London," replies Hank. "Their physical mutations make it impossible for many of them to pass as human, so they have to resort to hiding like animals. They captured Ali and I when we came to London to seek out Allerdyce. To save us, Ali challenged their leader Callisto to a fight and won leadership of the Morlocks."

"Whoa, really?" asks John. "Wouldn't have expected that from Ali."

"You and me both," says Hank. "On the outside, she seems like she'd be lost without the team… but apparently people can surprise you."

"Guess so," says John. "So now what are our options?"

"The hotel we're staying at should last us for a little bit," says Hank. "At least until we can figure out our next move. With Gateway with us, we have a bit more autonomy in the world, so that's good."

"The Acolytes are gonna be looking for us, man – you know that, right?" asks John.

"I know," replies Hank. "Now isn't the time to worry about that, though. I doubt they'll have the time or the inclination to come after us, though. They're most-likely too busy trying to avoid SHIELD as well."

The light turns green and the two cross the street, surrounded by other Londoners. The weather is nice, a sharp contrast from the way it looked when they first arrived the night earlier. As soon as they reach the other side of the street, John looks down at Hank.

"So where to now?"

"Hmmm…" mutters Hank. He looks down at the slip of paper in his hand. "The directions the concierge gave us say the grocery store should be at the end of this block."

"You'd think Gateway could just teleport us out there," says John.

"Yes, because a large, glowing portal in the middle of a busy London sidewalk is perfectly inconspicuous and won't draw the least bit attention," says Hank with a roll of his eyes. "It's only a few blocks away from the hotel and a little exercise never hurt anyone."

"Hey, I can handle it," says John. "Just wish we could get there a bit faster. Of course, with you here, we've gotta take a nice little stroll…"

"Sorry, not all of us can run forty miles an hour," says Hank. "Now quit bitching – I knew I should've had Peter come with instead. He's stronger anyway."

"Go to hell," says John. "He's only stronger 'cause he's got metal skin – that's cheating."

* * *

In the recreation area of the hotel, Peter Rasputin lays on a bench, the light shining off his metal skin. The metal bar is loaded with as much weight as possible, and perched in the middle of it, his three toes wrapped around the bar, is Kurt Darkholme, a can of Mountain Dew in his hand.

"So Rogue is dead," says Peter as he lifts the weight. Even with Kurt on it, he seems to do this effortlessly. "Mystique is dead. And the rest of the Brotherhood is held captive who knows where."

"That about sums it up," says Kurt.

"And we are working with the X-Men because…?" asks Peter.

"You know as well as I do the Brotherhood wasn't a place for us," says Kurt. "You joined to find a way to escape your father. I joined because my mother was the leader and I didn't have any other choice."

"But the X-Men…?" asks Peter. "These are the people responsible for your mother's death, Kurt."

"No, Charles Xavier killed my mother," replies Kurt. "And he's dead, too. Or as close to it as we can imagine. You're just pissed because you don't get along with anyone."

"That's not true," says Peter. "The only person I don't get along with is Proudstar. I don't have any problems with anyone else."

"Especially not Wolverine," says Kurt. He feels a sudden stop as Peter sets the bar down and turns to look at Kurt.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing," says Kurt. "Scott just mentioned something about the two of you getting along really well."

"Really?" asks Peter with a raised eyebrow. "What else did Scott say about Logan and I?"

"Umm… that was it," says Kurt. "Why, is there more?"

"No!" exclaims Peter.

"No?" asks Kurt, a questioning look coming over his face. "There's something going on, isn't there?"

"There's nothing going on," replies Peter, lying back down on the bench. Kurt looks at him with curiosity.

"I see…" he says. He takes a sip of his Mountain Dew, and then realization hits him and his eyes grow wide with shock as he spits out the soda. "Holy crap!"

"What?" asks Peter.

"You and Wolverine!" asks Kurt.

"Shut up, Kurt."

"I didn't know he was gay…" says Kurt.

"Shut _up_, Kurt."

"I mean… he always seemed like this macho, Clint Eastwood-type…" says Kurt. "Never would've expect him to…"

"SHUT UP, KURT!"

Kurt looks down at Peter from his perch.

"Relax Peter… nothing wrong with it," says Kurt. "It's just… wow."

"Can we please change the subject?" asks Peter.

"Yeah, sure thing," replies Kurt. "This is a nice set-up here, isn't it?"

"I'm surprised you're willing to risk coming up here," says Peter.

"Eh, not many people use these rec rooms anyway," says Kurt. "Besides, this is England – they'd probably think I was a pop culture icon or something."

Rising up from the floor is Kitty Pryde. As soon as her body comes all the way through the ground, she solidifies her body, and her feet lightly touch down.

"Hey guys," she says. "What's going on?"

"Not much," says Kurt. "Just talking about how Wolverine boned Peter."

"Kurt!"

"What?" asks Kurt, trying to suppress his laughter.

"Wait… what about you and Logan?" asks Kitty.

"It's none of your business," says Peter.

"No, I'm just a little confused," says Kitty. "I mean Logan… him and I..."

Kurt's head snaps up and his grin grows even larger, revealing his ivory fangs. He starts to chuckle a little bit and looks at Kitty and Peter.

"What's so funny now?" asks Peter.

"This is priceless…" replies Kurt. "Each of you… and Logan…"

He starts laughing uncontrollably. Peter sits upright on the bench, setting his feet on the ground. He looks up at Kitty, who's blushing uncontrollably while trying to avoid his gaze.

"You have to be joking…"

Kitty opens her mouth to speak, but no words come out. Peter lowers his head and shakes it. Kurt's laughter starts to fade, but the grin remains on his face.

"Well…" he says. "I think I'll leave the two of you alone. It seems like you have some things to discuss."

A bright flash of light and a cloud of smoke signal Kurt's exit as he teleports from the recreation room. He leaves Kitty and Peter both standing there staring at each other as an awkward silence fills the room.

* * *

Jean Grey holds the entire planet in the palm of her hand.

Her eyes glow brightly with the flames of creation as the Phoenix avatar surrounds her entire body. The globe turns quickly in her hand, and she scans over it.

_"Where are you, Charles?"_ she asks quietly to herself. _"The Shadow King didn't kill you… I know you're out there somewhere. But where are you hiding? And why are you hiding from me?"_

The globe suddenly stops spinning and it begins to crumble to ashes, which land on Jean's hand. She looks at the ashes in shock, and then a loud noise startles her.

_"Who's there?"_

_"You have no place here, young Phoenix. Begone!"_

* * *

Jean's eyes suddenly snap open.

She looks around the hotel room and finds herself hovering upside-down in the lotus position. She telekinetically flips herself right side up and lowers herself to the ground. She sits on the edge of the bed and rubs her head. There's a knock on the door that startles her slightly and she looks up.

"Come in," she says.

The door opens and Logan, Scott, and Ali enter the room.

"Everything okay?" asks Scott. "Thought we heard you scream."

"I screamed?" asks Jean, looking at them.

"No luck?" asks Ali. "With the Professor, I mean?"

"Nothing," replies Jean. "I keep trying to scour the Astral Plane looking for him, but I can't pinpoint him. I can feel his presence, but… it's almost like he's hiding from me."

"Why would he do that?" asks Logan.

"Since my powers have evolved, it could be that he doesn't recognize me," replies Jean. "Or maybe he's still disoriented from the Shadow King and is still trying to recuperate. Or maybe there's someone or something blocking us."

"The Shadow King?" asks Logan.

"No, the Shadow King's gone, this is something else," replies Jean. "Did you have any luck getting in touch with Mariko?"

"Not yet," says Logan. "She's pretty busy right now, I guess. Can't seem to nail her down."

"So we're staying in this hotel for the immediate future then?" asks Jean.

"That's how it looks," replies Logan. "Don't worry, though – if Mariko falls through, I still got other contacts I can turn to."

"And with Gateway on our side, it makes it easier to get from place to place," says Scott.

"We just gotta lay low for awhile," says Logan. "SHIELD knows we were runnin' with Magneto, an' now that he's outta the picture, they're gonna come lookin' for us."

* * *

Deep within the Morlock tunnels, Caliban limps forward. He enters a pipe, making his way through the water. On the other end, he finds the main section. The Morlocks look up when he enters and rush to his side to help him.

"Sunder, help him over here," says Callisto.

A large Morlock with a bald head helps to carry him over to Callisto, who stands from her seat. Caliban falls on his knees before her and she bends down, placing her hand on his head.

"What happened?" she asks.

Caliban slowly moves his hand from his wound and blood pours freely from it. The Morlocks gasp, and Callisto places Caliban's hand back over the wound.

"Keep pressure on it," she says. "What happened to you? Who did this?"

"Caliban doesn't know, majesty," he says.

"The humans?" asks Leech.

"No," replies Caliban.

"Caliban, this is important," says Callisto. "I want you to tell me what happened to you."

"Caliban was playing in the sewers, mistress…" begins Caliban. "Then the bad people come."

"What bad people?" asks Callisto?"

"Caliban… is not sure."

"Where's the Healer?" asks Callisto.

The sound of footsteps coming towards the entrance is heard. The man with long, black hair steps into the Morlock chamber. His compatriots follow him in as well. A large, well-built man drags an elderly man behind him.

"Blockbuster," says the leader. The large man, called Blockbuster, drops the old man on the ground. Callisto rushes to the old man and examines him.

His head is twisted a full hundred and eighty degrees.

"I assume that was the Healer you were talking about," says the leader.

"You bastard!" spits Callisto. "Who are you, what do you want?"

The leader kicks Callisto in the jaw, causing her to recoil.

"Name's Scalphunter, babe," he says. He shifts his rifle and takes aim and fires. Leech falls down on the ground, a bullet lodged in his skull. "These are my associates – Arclight, Blockbuster, Vertigo, Harpoon, and Riptide."

Scalphunter steps further and the Morlocks all back away from him. He smiles as he surveys all of them.

"We're the Marauders, we'll be your executioners tonight," says Scalphunter. He cocks his rifle. "Any questions?"

* * *


	2. Bloodbath

* * *

**_Morlock Tunnels  
London, England_**

"Protect the children!"

The order comes from Callisto, the leader of the Morlocks. In her hands is a staff that she uses to slam Scalphunter's gun from his hand. She moves in and shoves the staff against his chest. He grabs it and pulls it away from her snapping it in two. Scalphunter reaches for the components attached to his vest and quickly assembles a small firearm. Callisto charges forward to pull it away from him, but he knees her in the stomach and fires two bullets into her chest.

"Berzerker, take Caliban, find the children," says Sunder. Berzerker nods and helps Caliban move deeper into the tunnels. Sunder turns back towards the Marauders and sees Blockbuster coming towards him.

"What about you?" asks Berzerker.

"Don't worry about me, lad," replies Sunder. "These tossers are mine."

Sunder hurls his fist towards Blockbuster. Blockbuster stands his ground and grabs Sunder's fist in the palm of his massive hand. He smiles as he crushes Sunder's fist, and the Morlock cries out in pain. Blockbuster pulls Sunder towards him and slams him against the wall. He recoils his fist, and with all his strength, slams it against Sunder's head, putting it through the brick wall.

Tommy, using her powers to displace her mass to another dimension, becomes as thin as a sheet of paper. She attempts to move by sliding through the cracks in the sewer walls. Arclight steps forward and places her hands on the wall. Seismic vibrations channel from her hands into the wall, causing it to collapse with Tommy still inside.

Harpoon hurls one of his energy javelins at Lightning Bug. Erg jumps in front of her, taking the javelin in his chest. His body absorbs the energy and transmutes it. He lifts the eye-patch covering his left eye and a bolt of electrical energy flies out and strikes Harpoon.

Vertigo moves forward and unleashes her powers on the pair of Morlocks, disorienting them. For Erg and Lightning Bug, up becomes down, black becomes white, and their entire equilibrium is lost. She increases the effect on the entire area, disorienting the remaining Morlocks in the first part of the tunnels.

Riptide steps up next, while the Morlocks are disoriented and nauseous. He begins spinning around, and calcified skin secretions launch out from his whirlwind in the form of razor-sharp shurikens and spikes that impale the Morlocks.

Scalphunter steps forward, admiring the handiwork of his crew. He smiles as he looks down at the lifeless bodies of the Morlocks, and he turns to the rest of the Marauders.

"Not bad, not bad at all," he says.

"Slim pickings," says Riptide. "I was hoping for more of a challenge."

"Oh, don't worry about that, my friend – we're not through just yet," says Scalphunter. "From what our employers have told us, there are plenty more Morlocks where these came from – we've just gotta seek them out."

Scalphunter turns towards the tunnels.

"Come on, there's more where these freaks came from."

* * *

"MUTANT MASSACRE"  
Part II: Bloodbath  
March 2005  
**by Dino Pollard**

* * *

He tips the glass back and the Guinness flows down into his mouth and down his throat. Once the glass is drained, he sets it down on the bar.

"Fill 'er up," he says. The bartender looks at him and takes the glass.

"Y'sure about that, friend?" he asks. "You've 'ad about nine pints so far."

"Trust me, I can hold my own, 'mate,'" replies the customer.

The bartender places the glass under the tap and fills it to the brim as the customer puffs on his cigar. The bartender puts the glass down in front of the man.

"There y' are," he says. "But if y' start t' get rowdy, I'm gonna 'ave t' ask you t'leave."

"Deal," says the customer. He sets his cigar down on the ashtray and begins to drink down his tenth pint. His keen hearing perks up the sound of approaching footsteps and he turns his head. He sees a young woman with long, brown hair approaching him.

"How's it goin', kitten?" he asks. "Want a beer?"

Kitty Pryde lifts her hand and slaps it across Logan's face. He recoils, not from pain, but from shock. He turns and looks at her.

"Pig," she mutters. She spins on her heel and walks right back out of the bar, rubbing her hand from the impact of striking a face with an adamantium skull beneath it. The bartender leans over to Logan.

"Well… that's one way of sayin' 'no thanks,'" he says.

"No shit," mutters Logan.

He turns back to his drink and takes another puff on his cigar. He hears footsteps once more, although these are heavier. The bartender looks up and slowly backs away. Logan feels a finger tapping him on his shoulder. He turns and sees Peter Rasputin, fully armored, standing behind him.

"Way t' be subtle, Petey," he says. "Y'know we're supposed t' be travelin' incognito, ri—"

Before Logan can finish his sentence, Peter's metal-covered fist connects with his jaw and sends him flying across the bar. Logan sits up and shakes his head, rubbing it. He stands up and sees Peter already walking out of the bar. Logan moves back to his seat and drains the last of the Guinness from the glass. He slides it back towards the bartender, who's looking around nervously.

"Mind a refill?" asks Logan. The bartender takes the pint glass and puts it by the sink.

"What are you doin'?" asks Logan.

The bartender takes out a whiskey glass and places it on the countertop. He also puts down a bottle of whiskey.

"Right now, I think this is more your speed," he says.

"Good call," says Logan as the bartender begins pouring whiskey into the glass.

* * *

"Come here, children, come," says Annalee, gathering her four children and the young Artie. She looks up and sees Berzerker entering her sanctum, helping Caliban in. He lays Caliban up against the wall.

"Annalee, where's Bouncer?" asks Berzerker.

"What's happening?" asks Annalee.

"We're under attack," replies Berzerker.

"Attack… by who?" asks Annalee. "Humans?"

"No, they had powers," replies Berzerker.

"Mutants?" asks Annalee. "But why would mutants hunt their own kind?"

"Dunno, but we need Bouncer to get as many people out as possible," replies Berzerker. "Caliban's already very weak. His healing gifts are the only thing helping him so far."

"How many are there?" asks Annalee.

"Six," replies Berzerker. "They killed Callisto and Leech."

"What of the Healer?" asks Annalee. Berzerker simply shakes his head and Annalee sighs.

"Bouncer is our only hope," says Berzerker.

"I'm here, Berzerker."

Berzerker looks up and Bouncer steps into the room, followed by Feral, Tarbaby, Blow-Hard, Cybelle, and Ape.

"Ah good, now we have to get moving," says Berzerker.

"I know," says Bouncer. "Feral, Ape – stay with Ever, protect him."

"How many can you teleport at once?" asks Annalee.

"Four plus myself."

"Then send four of the little ones ahead of us and come back for the rest," says Berzerker. "We have to mount some sort of a defense."

"Are you insane, lad!" exclaims Annalee. "We have to escape! Get help!"

"And who will help us?" asks Berzerker. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but we're mutants, Annalee! The humans want nothing to do with us!"

"Watch your tongue, lad," replies Annalee.

"Both of you, shut up," says Bouncer. "I'll send the children ahead and we'll follow. The strongest of us will stay behind until I can get us all out safely."

"That's the only choice we ha—"

Berzerker's words are cut off by seismic vibrations. The wall before them crumbles and the Marauders step in.

"Knock knock," says Scalphunter. He holds a pair of semi-automatic weapons in his hands and begins unloading rounds into the Morlocks. Annalee, Blow-Hard, and Cybelle are the first to fall. Bullets strike Bouncer as well. Berzerker looks at Scalphunter with rage burning in his eyes and unleashes electrical energy at the six Marauders.

"MURDERERS!"

Vertigo unleashes her powers and disorients Berzerker. The moment is all Harpoon needs to rush forward and impale the Morlock on his javelin. Harpoon moves towards Annalee's four children cowering in the corner and suddenly, claws tear into his back. He turns and sees Caliban standing there, his wounds slowly healing.

"Stay… back…" he mutters with a low growl.

"Now isn't that sweet," says Arclight. "Look at how he tries to protect the little pretties."

Tarbaby moves towards the Marauders, attempting to encase them in the tar secreted by his pores. Riptide beings whipping around, freeing himself from the tar and hurling spikes into Tarbaby's throat.

"Nice shot," says Harpoon. He turns back to Caliban, but finds him and Annalee's four children gone.

"Go after them," Scalphunter says to Arclight. Arclight nods and runs off into the tunnels.

Bouncer pulls his body closer to Artie, the mute child who sits in the corner, tears welling up in his eyes. Bouncer puts his hand on Artie's knee and smiles at him.

"No tears, lad," he says. "It's time for us to go."

Bouncer wraps his bony fingers around Artie's knee and the two vanish from the tunnels in a flash of light.

"Let them go," says Scalphunter.

"Two of them went out this way," says Riptide, motioning in the direction Feral and Ape went.

"Good, maybe they'll lead us to more," says Scalphunter, reloading his guns. "Vertigo – you're with me. Riptide, Blockbuster, Harpoon – see who else you can find wandering around the tunnels."

* * *

"Words escape me," mutters Hank as he walks down the sidewalk, holding a pair of grocery bags.

"Oh c'mon," says John, moving to keep pace with Hank, and also carrying a pair of grocery bags.

"I have never been so embarrassed," says Hank.

"Bullshit, Hank," says John.

Hank stops and turns to look at John.

"You got into a fight over a frozen pizza," he says.

"I put my hand on it, first!" says John.

"With a woman!"

"Oh bullshit – if she was a woman, I wanna see some papers!" exclaims John. "Did you see that mustache!"

"You're sick, you know that?" asks Hank.

"Oh c'mon, it's not like I did anything bad!"

"You punched her!"

"I pulled my punches!"

"You have superhuman strength – even a pulled punch from you hits like a phonebook!"

"Hey, she seemed to recover pretty quickly," says John. "Just get off my back, okay?"

"Next time, I'm definitely bringing Colossus with…" mutters Hank. "Either that, or I'm going to tell Logan to do the grocery shopping on his own."

"Yeah, like you'd have the guts to say no to Wolve—"

A bright, flash of light appears in the middle of the sidewalk before them. Once the light fades, Hank and John see a young mutant with pink skin and no mouth sitting on the ground. Lying by the boy's side is an older mutant, blood pouring out from fresh bullet wounds. Hank and John instantly rush to his side. The man looks up at Hank and smiles.

"Beast…" he mutters. "Morlocks… need help…"

"You know this guy?" asks John.

"He's one of the Morlocks," replies Hank. "Bouncer, what happened?"

Bouncer opens his mouth to speak, but before a sound can escape his throat, the life fades from his body and he falls limp. Hank looks up at Artie and puts his hand on the young mutant's shoulder.

"Artie, what happened?" asks Hank.

Artie rubs the tears from his eyes and then closes them. Artie Maddicks is a mute young boy, with the mutant ability to create images from his mind for others to see. Hank and John watch as a mysterious gunman fires off round after round into Artie's fellow Morlocks.

"Holy crap…" mutters John.

"Take Artie back to the hotel, get the others," says Hank.

"Where are you going?"

"Down there," replies Hank.

"Not by yourself you're not," says John. "I should go down there, I'm stronger and faster than you."

"Exactly, you're faster," says Hank. "Which means you can get to the hotel faster than I can."

"Not gonna happen, pal," says John. "You're not going down there alone."

"This isn't up for debate," says Hank. "Take Artie and get…"

Hank stops and looks around.

"Artie…?"

"Damn…" mutters John. "He's gone."

"I'm going after him, he's probably gone back to the tunnels," says Hank. "John – go now. I'm not going to say it again. The longer we argue about this, the more lives that could be lost."

"Alright, fine," says John. He races towards the hotel as fast as he can, and Hank runs off to find the nearest entrance to the tunnels.

* * *

Artie Maddicks finds himself wandering around the tunnels of the sewers, trying to find his way back to his friends and family. He knows the bad men have come down, but he hopes they have left by now and he can return to his life the way it was. He looks around a corner and slowly steps out. Then he hears footsteps coming from behind him.

"Looks like we missed one," comes the voice of Blockbuster. Riptide and Harpoon come up beside their teammate.

"This was the one who teleported away, huh?" asks Riptide. "You're definitely one of the stupid ones, aren't you? You had a way out and still you come back down here."

Harpoon readies one of his spears and smiles.

"Leave him alone."

The three Marauders turn around and see a stocky man with long, black hair worn in a ponytail and a pair of tinted glasses. His hands and feet are enormous, granting him an almost simian-like appearence.

"And who's gonna stop us, fatboy?" asks Harpoon. "You?"

"Indubitably," replies the Beast as he cracks his knuckles. "Artie -- run!"

Beast leaps forward when he says those words, slamming his feet into Blockbuster's chest. He swings his fist and slams Harpoon back and he turns to face Riptide, but finds the Marauder is no longer there. He feels a huge gust of wind, and Riptide is suddenly standing in front of him. Blockbuster's massive hand gribs the Beast's shoulder.

"This had nothing to do with you," says Blockbuster. "You just signed your death warrant, pal."

* * *


	3. The Fallen

* * *

**_Morlock Tunnels  
London, England_**

"This has nothing to do. You just signed your death warrant, pal."

Those were the first and last words the Marauder called Blockbuster said to Hank McCoy, known as the Beast. The moment he finished them, his massive fist slammed into Beast. The force of the impact sent the Beast flying into the sewer wall behind him. Beast recovered fairly quickly. He saw Blockbuster approaching and he placed his palms flat on the wall by his head. Using the wall as leverage, he pushed forward and slammed his feet into Blockbuster's chest. Although not as strong as Blockbuster, Beast could hold his own, and the blow caused the Marauder to stagger somewhat.

The Beast bounded in the air and brought his knees close to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. In this cannonball position, he slammed into Blockbuster again and the force knocked him to the ground. Beast landed on the ground effortlessly, but before he had a chance to admire his handiwork, he felt a huge gust of wind. What followed were shurikens and spikes made from bone that tore at his flesh courtesy of Riptide.

"You think we're gonna let you off that easily, punk?" asked Riptide.

Beast lifted his hands to cover his face as he tried his best to dodge the shurikens and spikes. They were everywhere, though. Blood flowed freely from his wounds, and he could find no opening for him to strike back at Riptide. Instead, he chose to try and seek cover from the assault, but found none.

"Ease up, Riptide," said Harpoon. "You might kill him."

"And the problem would be...?" asked Riptide.

"If you kill him, then that means I don't get to have any fun," replied Harpoon with a smirk. He pulled two of his javelins from the quiver he wore on his back and approached the Beast, who now lay on the ground, bleeding. The Beast brought himself to his feet, unprepared to give in so easily. He moved to swing at Harpoon, but the massive fist of Blockbuster grabbed his hand.

"Now that's not nice," said Blockbuster. He squeezed and the Beast cringed as he felt the bones in his hand break. He kept silent, he didn't want to give the Marauders the satisfaction of hearing him scream. Blockbuster released his hand and slammed his fist into the Beast's chest. Hank cried out this time as he felt his ribs crack.

"Hold him up, Blockbuster," said Harpoon.

Blockbuster nodded and grabbed Beast's wrists with one hand and his legs with the other. He slammed the X-Man hard against the sewer wall. Harpoon twirled the two javelins in his hand as he approached the Beast. A twisted grin came across Harpoon's features and all Beast could think about was at least Artie got away.

Then, the blood-curdling screams of an X-Man echoed throughout the Morlock tunnels.

* * *

"MUTANT MASSACRE"  
Part III: The Fallen  
April 2005  
**by Dino Pollard**

* * *

Wolverine was the first to enter the Morlock Tunnels. He glanced around and he signaled for the others to follow him. Cyclops and Phoenix were next, followed by Thunderbird, Dazzler, and taking up the rear of the group were Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, and Colossus.

"This should be it," said Dazzler. "It's been awhile since we've been down here, but I'm pretty sure this is where we left the Morlock Tunnels when Hank and I were last down here."

"This place stinks," said Wolverine.

"No shit, it's a sewer," said Thunderbird.

"Not that," said Wolverine. "It stinks of death. I can smell the blood. People died down here."

"I can feel it, too," said Phoenix.

"Talk to me, Jeannie," said Wolverine. "What've we got here?"

Jean Grey closes her eyes and reaches out with her mind. With the might of the Phoenix at her disposal, her psychic powers have increased by a large degree over the past several months. Slowly, little by little, she is learning how to master them. But after her confrontation with Magneto -- pushing past his psychic shields and trapping his mind in a permanent fantasy world of his own creation -- she has been weakened.

"I can feel him..." she said. "I can't get a solid lock on him, though. He's still alive, I know that much -- but I'm not sure for how long."

"Then we find him the old fashioned way," said Wolverine.

"What about the Morlocks?" asked Dazzler.

"I can sense a few lingering consciousnesses, but not much," replied Phoenix.

"Where?" asked Dazzler.

"Come with me," replied Phoenix, taking the lead. The X-Men followed her through the tunnels. All the while, the entire group found themselves looking over their shoulders. Thoughts constantly drifted back to their missing teammate. Jean Grey could feel the concern they all shared, for she shared it as well. However, she pushed it to the back of her mind, attempted to ignore it for now.

"This is starting to look familiar now," said Dazzler. "I recognize where we are."

The Phoenix stopped suddenly. Her eyes were wide, and she turned to face her teammates.

"Ali... are you sure you want to see this?" she asked.

"I'm in no mood to be coddled, Jean," replied Dazzler. "Now keep going."

Phoenix nodded and moved closer. She pushed aside what remained of the door to the Morlocks' sanctum. Phoenix walked in and instantly turned her head away and shut her eyes tightly. She bit her lip as she felt tears welling up. Dazzler was next in, and she saw the handiwork of the Marauders. Morlocks lay scattered around, their bodies sat in pools of their own, dried blood. Dazzler fell to her knees and looked at the bodies of the people she was supposed to lead.

"No..." she muttered. "No, this is my fault..."

"No it's not," said Thunderbird. He moved down beside her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You couldn't have known about this."

"I was their leader... I should've stayed with them," said Dazzler.

"Yes... you should have..."

"This one's still alive," said Nightcrawler. He moved over to the one Morlock who was still alive... but barely. The other X-Men followed suit and Dazzler moved towards her.

"Who is she?" asked Cyclops.

"Callisto, she was the leader of the Morlocks," replied Dazzler. "Callisto... what happened?"

"They came... they killed them... killed them all... You should have been here, you were our leader, but you failed us. You should have... you bear responsibility, you must... must aveng--"

With those final words, Callisto fell silent as the life left her body. Dazzler felt the tears coming, but she forced them back. She stood from Callisto's body and faced the rest of the X-Men.

"Ali, I'm so--"

"Don't bother, Phoenix," said Dazzler. She faced Wolverine. "They were my people. You know what we have to do, don't you?"

"I gotcha," said Wolverine. "We'll find the bastards who did this, kiddo. They'll pay, I promise you."

"Damn right they will," said Dazzler. She turned away from Wolverine and continued deeper into the Morlocks' sanctum. "I'll make sure of it."

"The faint impressions are growing stronger," said Phoenix. "We have to keep going, there may be more survivors."

She followed Dazzler and the other X-Men moved in as well behind them. What they found, however, was only more bodies. Dazzler tried not to look at them, instead attempting to keep her composure. She had no time to grieve, the only thing on her mind now was guilt. Guilt and vengeance.

"Through here," said Phoenix as she stepped past Dazzler. Wolverine and Cyclops followed her in and they saw the bodies of several Morlocks -- Caliban, Berzerker, Ape, Feral, Annalee, Tarbaby, Cybelle, Blow-Hard, and Annalee's children. Shadowcat gasped when she saw their small bodies.

"Kids..." she said. "They were just kids..."

"It's a terrible thing," said Wolverine. "Sad to say I'm used to this."

"How could you ever possibly get used to seeing something like this?" asked Shadowcat.

"You just do," replied Wolverine. In the corner, he heard faint breathing and moved towards it. What he found was a distorted creature made entirely out of brain matter. He opened his eyes and looked weakly at Wolverine.

"His name's Ever," said Dazzler. "He's the resident telepath."

"Maybe he can tell us what happened," said Wolverine.

_"I can..." _Ever's psychic voice rang out in the minds of all of them. _"Marauders... they kill and Morlocks... die..."_

"Who are these Marauders?" asked Cyclops.

_"Mutants... like us... paid to hunt down their own kind by men... men of power..."_

"Mutants did this..." said Colossus, his teeth gritted in rage. "How could they kill their own kind... for money?"

"Humans have been doin' it for centuries, big guy," said Wolverine. "Don't surprise me one bit."

A sniffing sound came and little Artie entered the sanctum. Shadowcat instantly rushed over to him and lifted him up. She covered his eyes with her hand to prevent him from seeing -- but she was too late.

"That's Artie," said Dazzler.

"Can he tell us if he's found any survivors?" asked Wolverine.

"He can't tell you anything, he's mute," replied Dazzler.

"He knows where Hank is," said Phoenix. "I'm picking it up from his mind."

Artie nodded his head. An image appeared in front of the X-Men, projected from Artie's memory. They saw as three of the Marauders -- Blockbuster, Harpoon, and Riptide -- closed in on him. They were stopped by the intervention of the Beast, who told Artie to run. Artie stayed for a bit, and the X-Men watched as Beast tried to fight off the three Marauders on his own, but succumbing to fear, Artie ran off.

"He feels like a coward because he ran," said Phoenix, detecting Artie's feelings.

"He's not," said Dazzler. She approached Artie and wiped the tears from his eyes. "You did the right thing, Artie."

"Because of Artie, I now know where Hank is," said Phoenix. "We have to get to him while he's still alive."

* * *

In his memories, the Beast could still hear the taunts of the three Marauders as they ganged up on him. He was forced to sit there and take it as they pummeled him and cut at his body. The pain is still with him. They told him to beg for a clean death, to simply end it all, but he refused. He gave them no quarter, just as they gave him none. He sat there, he allowed them to do their worst. In his mind, he knew Logan would be proud.

If the Beast were conscious, he would know that Logan was standing before him right now. As were the rest of his teammates. The X-Men looked at him in shock and horror. Henry McCoy -- the Beast -- was pinned to the wall, spread eagle. A harpoon in each hand and each foot, pinning him there.

"Bastards..." muttered Cyclops.

"Get him down from there," said Wolverine. Colossus removed each of the harpoons from the Beast's body, and Thunderbird held onto the body of his teammate, carefully laying him on the ground. Wolverine looked down at the Beast and shook his head. He turned to face the rest of the X-Men.

"They're not gettin' away with this," said Wolverine. "Jean, I need you to use your powers to try and stop Hank's bleeding."

"Already doing it," said Phoenix.

"Good girl," said Wolverine. "Cyke, you and Jeannie are with me. We're takin' Hank an' this Artie kid up top. I got a friend who lives in London. She's a doctor."

"Will she treat mutants?" asked Cyclops.

"That's not an issue with her," replied Wolverine. "The rest of you -- keep searchin' for survivors. Don't go up against these Marauders just yet, though -- yer just on a recon mission for now, got it? We don't know enough about 'em yet."

"Understood," said Colossus.

"Good," said Wolverine. "An' Dazzler..."

For the first time, he noticed that Dazzler had been missing from the rest of the group. He punched the wall frustration and exhaled deeply through his nose.

"Go after her, Proudstar," said Wolverine. "Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid."

"What if we do find the Marauders?" asked Nightcrawler.

"If you do, try an' contain one of 'em for interrogation," replied Wolverine. "Ever said they were paid assassins, so I wanna know who did the paying."

"And the rest of them?" asked Colossus.

"Leave 'em to me," replied Wolverine.

* * *


	4. Vengeance

* * *

On the outskirts of London is a small building. Inside, Doctor Cecilia Reyes goes about her daily routine. A woman of Puerto Rican descent, she grew up in the Bronx. While studying medicine at Empire State University, she found an opportunity to study abroad in London. She preferred England to the United States, so she chose to make London her new home. Currently, she has her own private practice.

However, she never could have prepared herself for the sight which she discovered in her waiting room on this day. A woman with short red hair, a man with black hair almost in the shape of wolf's ears, and a younger man with short brown hair and a golden visor concealing his eyes stood in the waiting room. Hovering in midair right beside them was a larger man with long, black hair and he was bleeding from several wounds and in the brown-haired mans arms was a young boy with pink skin and no mouth. All four of them were dressed in odd, leather uniforms of some sort.

"What's going on here?" she demanded. "Who are you people?"

"Hiya Ceci," said the man with the wild hair. "Remember me?"

She did, although she had never expected to see him of all people gracing her doorstep.

"Logan?"

"That's right, darlin'," he said. "I need yer help."

* * *

"MUTANT MASSACRE"  
Part IV: Vengeance  
April 2005  
**by Dino Pollard**

* * *

While Dr. Reyes dealt with her latest arrivals, deep below the city of London, in the sewers which run beneath it, the remainder of the X-Men were on a mission of their own. John Proudstar, Thunderbird, currently raced through the tunnels, searching for one of his own teammates. Alison Blaire had left the rest of the group in search of the Marauders on her own.

Dazzler as she had come to be known was the leader of the Morlocks -- a position she gained after defeating their past leader, Callisto, in combat. As a result, she felt a deep sense of responsibility once she came here and discovered the Morlocks were slaughtered by hired killers known as the Marauders.

Thunderbird caught sight of her and came to a stop by her side. She lay by the body of a Morlock, and Thunderbird slowly and gently put his hand on her shoulder. She nearly jumped, but regained her composure and stood to look at him.

"What do you want?"

"I came to make sure you didn't do anything you would regret," he replied.

"I'm fine," she said.

"No you're not," said Thunderbird. "Ali, you didn't do this. You're not responsible for what's happened."

"Aren't I?" she asked. "I challenged Callisto to that fight not thinking of the consequences."

"You did what you had to so you could save yourself and Hank," replied Thunderbird.

"Yeah, save him... from what?" asked Dazzler. "Now he's probably going to die anyway."

"You don't know that," said Thunderbird. "C'mon, this isn't like you."

"What would you prefer?" asked Dazzler. "That I just act like the old Dazzler? The ex-pop star who didn't know the first thing about defending herself? Always in the background, always having to rely on someone else? Sorry to disappoint you, but that girl's dead. She died when she had to fight another mutant in a gladiator-type of competition."

"Hey, I think it's great that you have all this confidence about yourself and your abilities," said Thunderbird. "But don't let it get to your head. Just what would you do if you did find one of the Marauders down here?"

"That's easy," she replied. "I would kill him."

"Just like that?" asked Thunderbird.

"Just like that," replied Dazzler.

"We're talking about trained killers here," said Thunderbird. "Look at how many of the Morlocks they took out -- and for all we know, there were only a handful of them."

"They got the drop on the Morlocks," said Dazzler.

"What if they get the drop on you?"

"Look, are you gonna help me, or are you going to continue with the lecture?" asked Dazzler. "Because if you're just going to continue with the lecture, I think I'll pass."

"Okay, fine," said Thunderbird. "We'll do it your way for now."

* * *

"What happened to him?" asked Cecilia as Phoenix carefully set the Beast on the examination table.

"He went up against a nasty group of killers," said Wolverine.

"I see," said Cecila. "What are you doing in England anyway, Logan? It's been what, ten years?"

"At least," said Wolverine. "An' it's a long story, Doc."

"Why bring him here and not to a hospital?" asked Cecila, pulling on a pair of latex gloves.

"He's a mutant, an' we didn't wanna deal with too many questions," replied Wolverine. "Think you could help us out?"

"A friend in need and all that," said Cecilia. "Although I don't have many friends who I don't hear from in a decade."

"I've been keepin' busy, y'know what it's like," said Wolverine. "We gotta get movin', though."

"You're just going to leave your friend here like this?" asked Cecilia.

"We'll be back, but we don't have time to wait around," replied Wolverine. "'Sides, I know he's in good hand."

"In ten years, you haven't changed a bit, Logan," said Cecilia. "You're still a bastard."

"So I'm told," said Wolverine. He turned to Cyclops and Phoenix. "C'mon, let's move."

The three X-Men walked into the waiting room. Cyclops set Artie down on the ground near some toys there for children to amuse themselves with while they waited on the doctor. Cyclops kneeled down beside him.

"Can you stay here and play for awhile, Artie?" he asked. "We'll be back as soon as we can."

Artie nodded his head and Cyclops stood up. He joined Wolverine and Phoenix and they walked out of the office.

"How do you know her?" asked Phoenix.

"I did some work in London ten years ago for SHIELD," replied Wolverine. "Met Ceci -- she was fresh outta med school an' a mutant to boot."

"She does a good job of hiding it," said Phoenix.

"She's got a forcefield around her that appears whenever something strikes it," said Wolverine. "I helped her learn to control it, an' we had a little thing goin' for a bit."

"'A little thing?'" repeated Cyclops. "Christ Logan, is there anyone you _haven't _slept with?"

"I've been waitin' for you to give me that come-hither eye, Summers," replied Wolverine.

"How can you make jokes at a time like this?" asked Phoenix. "People are dead while our friends are down there possibly fighting for their lives."

"That's just the way I am, darlin'," said Wolverine. "Now let's go take out some trash."

* * *

"Nothing," said Shadowcat. "We've been searching down here for hours and all we've found is dried blood. Not a Marauder in sight."

"Patience, Katya," said Colossus.

"...huh?" asked Shadowcat. "What did you call me?"

"Oh sorry..." replied Colossus. "It just slipped out. Katya basically means Kitty in Russian."

"Katya, huh?" asked Shadowcat. "I kinda like that. It's got a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"Eh, to each his own," said Nightcrawler. "Or her own, as the case may be."

"So you're from Russia, huh?" asked Shadowcat.

"Yes," replied Colossus.

"I've never been there," said Shadowcat. "Think I might like to go sometime."

"It's nothing special," said Colossus. "You'd just be wasting your time."

"Oh god..." muttered Nightcrawler to himself. "Please don't tell me Kitty's trying to flirt with a gay guy..."

"Hey, it's like you said, you little freak."

Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Shadowcat stopped dead in their tracks when they heard the new voice. The three of them turned to find themselves facing Riptide, Blockbuster, and Harpoon.

"To each his own," said Blockbuster with a grin.

"It's them..." muttered Shadowcat. "The ones from Artie's vision. They're the ones who attacked Hank."

"Hank... was he one of those fucked up Morlocks?" asked Harpoon.

"He was the _man _you pinned to a wall," replied Nightcrawler.

"Oh yeah, I remember him now," said Harpoon. "Bastard got what was coming to him. He should know better than to interfere in matters that don't concern him."

"You were killing mutants," said Colossus. "That means it concerns us."

"Boo-freaking-hoo," said Blockbuster. He cracked his knuckles and neck. "Shall we get this over with?"

Riptide launched the opening salvo, spinning around, and spikes and shurikens flew forth from the tornado which his body had become. Nightcrawler teleported away from danger, whereas Shadowcat phased through them, and Colossus simply sidestepped them. Nightcrawler rematerialized behind Blockbuster and took hold of the big guy.

"Are you seriously gonna try to take me on by yourself, freak?" asked Blockbuster.

"I'm guessing you're the reason we found Hank with all those broken bones," said Nightcrawler.

"You'd be right," said Blockbuster.

"Good," said Nightcrawler. With Blockbuster in tow, he began to teleport several times, taking Blockbuster with him each time. The strain was great on Kurt Darkholme's body, but he didn't care. The only thing on his mind was the image of his teammate pinned to a wall with shattered hands and ribs. Nightcrawler stopped the rapid teleportation, and Blockbuster fell to the ground, unconscious. Teleporting any one with him is a strain on Kurt's body -- but it's even worse for the passenger. Nightcrawler stopped and placed his hand on the wall for balance.

"Bad move, kid," came the voice of Riptide. Nightcrawler looked up to see spikes and shuriken flying towards him. Unfortunately, he was too weak to teleport away this time, and the razor-sharp bones cut his skin, the crimson blood a sharp contrast to his jet-black skin.

"Kurt!" exclaimed Colossus, upon seeing his friend fall.

"You're next, big man," said Harpoon. He threw one of his javelins and it converted to energy the moment it left his hand.

"Peter, move!" exclaimed Shadowcat. She pushed Colossus aside and phased just as the javelin passed through her. She expected the javelin to harmlessly move through her body, but the result was far more shocking. The energy sent pain throughout Kitty Pryde's nervous system.

"Kitty!" exclaimed Colossus. He moved forward. Riptide moved in front of Harpoon, spinning around and hurling his weapons at the steel giant. The shurikens were sharp enough to cut into Peter Rasputin's metal hide, but he didn't care. He still kept moving towards Riptide.

"You really think you can stand up to us, friend?" asked Riptide. Colossus kept walking forward. When Riptide was within arm's reach, Colossus' hand snatched out and grabbed his neck, stopping him from spinning around any further.

"Get this, Marauder," said Colossus. "We're not friends."

He twisted hard and Riptide's neck broke with a sickening crack. Colossus dropped the dead Marauder's body. He slowly looked up, his gaze trained on Harpoon.

"You're next."

"Bring it on," said Harpoon.

He threw a javelin and it went right through Colossus' abdomen. The X-Man cringed in response to the searing pain, but kept moving forward. He grabbed Harpoon's wrist before he could throw another javelin and broke it. Harpoon gritted his teeth in response to the pain. Colossus threw Harpoon against the wall, hard. He moved over to the Marauder and grabbed one of the javelins from his quiver.

"So you like pinning people to walls, huh?" asked Colossus. "Let's show you what it feels like."

Kitty Pryde could do nothing but watch, could offer no response, could not even solidify her body. She just stood in her phased state as Colossus showed Harpoon the same mercy he and his friends had shown the Beast. When Colossus was through, he took a remaining javelin and stepped away from Harpoon. He moved over to the unconscious Blockbuster and rammed the javelin into the Marauder's head. Colossus turned towards Shadowcat.

"Sorry you had to... to see that," he said. He moved closer, and Shadowcat could see something was wrong with him. He moved as if he was injured. Riptide's shurikens and Harpoon's javelins had done more damage than either of them had realized. He stumbled and fell to the ground, unconscious.

* * *


	5. Hunted

* * *

In the Morlock tunnels, Kitty Pryde stood in an area where she was the only conscious person. Her and her fellow X-Men came into the tunnels once they discovered the Morlocks who lived beneath London were being slaughtered by mutant assassins called the Marauders. One of her teammates, the Beast laid in a hospital bed. Her other two teammates, who were here in the tunnels with her, are Colossus and Nightcrawler. Both were unconscious, or at least she hoped they were.

After being struck with one of Harpoon's energy javelins, she's found she cannot solidify herself. As such, she cannot check the pulses for either of her friends to see if they are okay. Also in the tunnels with her were three of the six Marauders. These three -- Riptide, Harpoon, and Blockbuster -- are all dead, courtesy of the wrath of Colossus.

"Kitty!"

She looked up to see three of her teammates -- Wolverine, Cyclops, and Phoenix -- coming towards her. She smiled at them. When they arrived, Cyclops and Phoenix wore shocked expressions on their faces. Wolverine, however, remained as stoic as ever. For him, this was a warzone, and he had seen more than his fair share of his wars. He was to the point where it did not seem to affect him at all.

"What happened?" asked Cyclops. Shadowcat opened her mouth to speak, but no words came forth.

"Relax Kitty, let me pull the images from your mind," said Phoenix. Jean Grey closed her eyes and Shadowcat could feel the claws of the Phoenix digging through her memories. Jean recoiled and grasped her head. Cyclops and Wolverine helped to steady her.

"They ran into these three," said Phoenix. "Kurt fell first, thanks to Riptide. Then came Kitty after Harpoon's javelin struck her. Peter killed them both as well as Blockbuster. Then he just... collapsed."

"Are they alive?" asked Cyclops.

"Yes," replied Phoenix. "I'm detecting brain activity in both Kurt and Peter."

"And Kitty?" asked Wolverine. "How come she can't talk?"

"Somehow, Harpoon's energy javelin did something to her," replied Phoenix. "She's frozen in her phased state."

"Where are the others?" asked Wolverine.

"I'm trying to locate them..." replied Phoenix. "I can sense both John and Ali nearby. They're alive and well, so far."

"Take 'em back to Ceci's place," said Wolverine. "See what you can do for 'em."

"What about you two?" asked Phoenix.

"We're goin' after Thunderbird an' Dazzler," he replied.

* * *

"MUTANT MASSACRE"  
Part V: Hunted  
April 2005  
**by Dino Pollard**

* * *

Thunderbird nearly fell over from the force of Arclight's quake. He and Dazzler had finally found two of the Marauders -- Arclight and Vertigo. At the moment, Arclight was keeping both Thunderbird and Dazzler busy, while Vertigo simply stood off to the side and watched.

"How many Morlocks have you killed?" asked Dazzler.

"I dunno, I stopped counting after awhile," replied Arclight with a grin. She stomped on the ground again, sending tremors through the earth. Dazzler stumbled and fell. She sat up and glared at Arclight. She absorbed the sound from Arclight's attack and converted it into light -- generating a colorful orb in the palm of her hand. She hurled it at Arclight and it exploded when it struck the ground.

"Let's see how _you _like it!" exclaimed Dazzler. She hurled orb after orb at Arclight, forcing the Marauder to lose her footing. With Arclight stunned, it gave Thunderbird an opening. He charged towards her and pummeled her. His fists connected with her body and he found himself unable to hold back.

Vertigo noticed what was happening. Before she could turn her powers on Thunderbird, Dazzler's light orbs struck her. Both the X-Men were enraged and gave the Marauders no quarter. The two female assassins found themselves on the ropes thanks to the efforts of these two young mutants.

Arclight grabbed Thunderbird's fist before it connected. She delivered an uppercut powerful enough to send him flying across the tunnel. She was back on him and she wrapped her hands around his throat.

"I wonder what would happen if I used my powers on you right now?" she asked. "Maybe they would make your skull cave in. Would you like that, boy?"

Thunderbird gritted his teeth. He reached around with his hand and pulled a loose brick free from the wall. He smacked it against Arclight's head, forcing her off him.

"Shut up, murderer," he growled. He grabbed her hair and, using all his strength, slammed her head against the sewer wall.

The result wasn't pretty.

"Arclight!" exclaimed Vertigo. "Oh, you are _so_ dead now!"

Vertigo raised her arms and Dazzler and Thunderbird lost all sense of equilibrium courtsey of the Marauder's power. Their heads pounded, and the feeling was the same one might experience while being involved in binge drinking -- only multiplied several times over. She increased the pressure of the attack, and Dazzler and Thunderbird each wanted to vomit. It felt as if their insides were being turned inside out and they could do nothing to alleviate the attack.

A beam of crimson energy shot out from behind and struck Vertigo in the back of the head. She did not have a chance to cry out, it happened so sudden. She got up, but before she could strike back, Wolverine was on top of her. He placed his fist up against her throat and the two side claws slid out, barely grazing her neck. The middle claw inched out slowly, and she could feel the point against her throat.

"Summers, check on them," said Wolverine. Cyclops helped Thunderbird and Dazzler to their feet. Dazzler stormed past them and walked over to Vertigo. In her hand, she generated a light orb.

"Your leader," she said. "Where is he? Who is he?"

"You heard the lady," said Wolverine. "I suggest you answer."

"If you think you can take on Scalphunter, you're completely off," said Vertigo. "You thought the rest of us were bad? Scalphunter's worse than all of us combined. There's a reason he's the leader."

Wolverine retracted his claws and slammed his fist against Vertigo's head. The impact of the adamantium-laced bones knocked her unconscious. He picked her up by the collar and tossed her to Thunderbird.

"Take her to Jeannie, have her figure out who sent them," said Wolverine.

"What about you?" asked Cyclops.

"Scalphunter's still runnin' around here somewhere," replied Wolverine. He extended his claws. "That means I'm goin' hunting."

* * *

Jean Grey leaned against the wall and watched as Dr. Cecilia Reyes went to work. There were three examination tables set up -- Beast, Colossus, and Nightcrawler each laid on one. Kitty was next to Jean and Jean could sense her teammate's frustration. She was worried for her friends, as was Jean -- although Kitty found she wasn't able to communicate at all.

"How are they doing?" asked Jean.

"Hank has stabilized," replied Cecilia. "Kurt's in a coma, unfortunately. But Peter... I don't know what to do with Peter. He shows no signs of life at all in this armored form -- I can't feel for a pulse or tell if he's breathing or anything. And I can't see any visible wounds."

"Let me see," said Jean. She moved over to Peter Rasputin's body. "I can sense him weakening... all around him, energy is leaving his body through the wounds. Especially where Harpoon's spear hit."

"So what can we do? Bandage him up?" asked Cecilia.

"No, bandages won't work," replied Jean. "Let me try something..."

She placed her hands just above Peter's body. Cecilia gasped as flames seemed to surround the two of them. Jean's eyes began to glow brightly as did her hands. Cecilia could see the wounds now, clear as day. She watched as they glowed brightly as well, and slowly, they began to close up. The aura began to fade from the two of them and strain came over Jean's body. Cecilia saw the young woman was about to fall over and moved to steady her.

"You okay?" she asked.

"I'll be fine..." muttered Jean.

"What did you do?"

"I fused his wounds shut," said Jean. "Basically cauterized them."

"Hunh, I didn't know you could do that," said Cecilia.

"Neither did I," said Jean. She turned her head. "Scott's back."

"He is?" asked Cecilia. Almost on cue, the door opened up and Scott stood there with John and Ali by his side. In John's arms was the unconscious Vertigo.

"Another one?" asked Cecilia.

"No, this one's a prisoner," replied John. "Logan figured you could pull the information from her mind."

"I can try," said Jean. She moved over to Vertigo's prone form and established a mindlink. While she went to work, Ali and Scott moved to check on their friends.

"How are they doing?" asked Scott.

"It looks like they're going to be okay," replied Cecilia.

"And Kitty?" asked Scott.

Cecilia looked at the ghostlike form of Kitty Pryde and sighed. "I'm not sure yet."

"I'm... trying to search her mind..." said Jean. "But... there's so much here... so much and... ARGH!"

Jean's cry went out and she collapsed to the ground. Scott and Ali rushed to her side and helped her back up, alowing her to use them both for balance.

"What happened?" asked Ali.

"Her mind... booby-trapped," replied Jean. "I tried to peruse her thoughts, and I was met with a violent reaction. Her mind began to shut down, and if I remained in there, I would've been trapped in her body."

"So she's dead?" asked Ali.

"Looks like it," replied John. "I don't hear any breathing."

"Perfect," said Scott. "So we have no idea who sent the Marauders?"

"None," replied Jean. "But since Vertigo isn't a telepath, and I don't think any of the Marauders are, then whoever hired them had to have been. Someone powerful enough to put safeguards like that in a person's mind."

"This is just great," said Cecilia. "By the way, where's Logan?"

"He's finishing this," said Scott.

"Uh guys...?" said John.

"What?" asked Jean.

"Did anyone else notice that Hank's hair is starting to turn blue?"

* * *

In the Morlock tunnels, one final Marauder remained. His name is Scalphunter, the leader of this group of assassins. He knew someone was hunting him, and he, in turn, was hunting them as well. In his hands was a high-powered rifle. He checked the clip and satisfied to see it was full, he snapped it back into the gun.

"Here little mouse..." he whispered to himself as he hefted the rifle. "Come out come out, wherever you are..."

He inched along the wall, certain that his prey was on the other side. He heard a bit of rustling and knew it had to be. He quickly turned the corner and took aim only to find nothing.

"Hunh..." he said. He shifted the rifle to one hand and reached into one of the pouches on his belt. He produced a cigarette from it and placed it between his lips. He turned, but before he could snap open his lighter, he saw someone standing right behind him.

"Got another of those?" asked Wolverine.

Scalphunter pulled back and lifted his rifle up. Wolverine moved quickly and his claws sliced through the rifle, rendering it inoperable. Scalphunter tossed it at Wolverine, and the X-Man simply ducked it. He leaped towards Scalphunter and the assassin fell back. He drove his legs into Wolverine's chest to kick him back. Scalphunter grabbed various components off his vest and instantly began assembling a new gun.

"Nice trick," said Wolverine. "Go ahead and shoot."

Scalphunter lifted the rifle up and fired a bullet right between Wolverine's eyes. His head rocked back and Scalphunter smiled.

"At this range, did you really think I'd miss?" he asked. He stepped over to Wolverine's body and looked down at it. "You didn't know who you were messing with, did you?"

"I'd say you didn't," came Wolverine's reply. Scalphunter's eyes went wide in shock. The mutant leaped to his feet and slashed forward, his claws catching Scalphunter's side. Scalphunter pulled back, his hand clutching his wound. He looked up at Wolverine, who smiled and tossed something at Scalphunter.

"I believe this is yours."

Scalphunter glanced down at it and saw it was the bullet he shot Wolverine with. It was flattened, as if it had struck something it couldn't break past. Wolverine rapped lightly on his skull and Scalphunter could have sworn it sounded like metal.

"Adamantium-laced skeleton," said Wolverine. "See, you may think yer the perfect killing machine, Scalphunter -- but you're not."

He charged forward, his claws impaling Scalphunter in the abdomen. He moved his head close to Scalphunter's ear and whispered into it, "I am."

Wolverine pulled his claws free and Scalphunter slumped down to the ground. Wolverine kneeled before him. He grabbed one of the cigarettes and the lighter from Scalphunter's belt and lit it. He took a drag on it, then placed it between Scalphunter's lips. The Marauder took a drag and exhaled. Wolverine drew and lit a second cigarette for himself.

"Who sent you?" asked Wolverine.

"A professional never rats out his employer," came Scalphunter's reply. "This was supposed to be a simple sweep and clean mission. Just off the degenerate little fucks and be done with it. I guess none of us expected to run into a bunch of superheroes down here."

"You didn't," said Wolverine. He placed his fist under Scalphunter's chin and his middle claw shot straight through. Wolverine retracted the claw, and Scalphunter fell over, a look of shock frozen on his face. Wolverine flicked the cigarette butt at his body then stood up.

"Superheroes don't kill."

* * *

Scott Summers stood outside the building where Cecilia Reyes' practice was located. He had his arms folded across his chest and he wore his ruby quartz sunglasses as opposed to the visor he had grown so accustomed to. A leather jacket was draped over his X-Men uniform, granting him some semblence of normalcy. He looked up as Logan approached, a cigar between his lips.

"Well?" asked Scott.

"It's over," replied Logan. "I took care of Scalphunter."

"Good," said Scott.

"How's everyone doin'?" asked Logan.

"Kurt's in a coma and Kitty's stuck in her phased state," replied Scott. "But Hank's healing nicely... or so we think. And Peter's doing fine."

"Half an' half, that's better than expected," said Logan. "At least we didn't lose anyone."

"That's not true," said Scott.

"What do you mean?"

"We've lost you."

Logan looked at him with a puzzled expression. "What are you talking about, Summers?"

"We've been following your lead for too long," said Scott. "I personally hold you accountable for what happened to Peter, Kitty, and Kurt. You shouldn't have left them in the tunnels alone. And if we hadn't gotten to John and Ali in time, who knows what would have happened to them?"

"Somethin' you wanna say, Slim?" asked Logan.

"You're off the team," replied Scott. "Effective immediately."

"And who's gonna take charge then?" asked Logan. "You?"

Scott remained stoic in his expression and posture.

"You said it yourself -- you won't be around forever," he replied. "I'm not putting anyone else at risk because of your actions."

"Fine," said Logan. He removed the cigar and dropped it on the ground between them. He stepped right up to Cyclops, their faces inches apart. "I'll play your game, Summers. But mark my words -- you'll come crawlin' back."

Logan turned on his heel and began to walk away. Scott remained in that position for several moments. Once the adrenaline rush wore off, Scott Summers would find his entire body shaking from the fear he experienced by standing up to the Wolverine.

* * *

**NEXT: **_Mojovision._

* * *


End file.
